Hey guys im trying to figure the area of a sign that I mapped this morning. Im working in Carlson 2017 with intellicad. My pts are in the dwg I have them in there at there real z axis. I have rotated the view.... if I did this correctly by dropdown menu view> viewpoint 3d and then set my x axis to 270. and xy to 0.0
So what im looking at looks like a bunch of pts in 3d space. GOOD. Heres where things are getting tricky for me. Drawing the sign by 3d polyline. The sign has lots of curved edges so I need to draw arcs I can do the arc segments by drop down menu draw> Arc> 3d Arc this is the only way ive been able to get the curves to draw at all. Ultimately I can draw the outline of the sign but its in multiple 3d polyline segments...... Cant join the 3d polys and even if I could how would I get an area out of it........
Thanks for any input.
Shooting from the hip here with a guess.........
I would think you would have to best fit a line defining the 2D axis of the sign, then re-orient your coordinate system to that line (USC -> Entity)
Then change your view as you described...then you know your looking perpendicular to the sign face.
Next connect the dots with a 3D polyline then use some sort of flatten command to flatten the view to a 2D drawing....then work with your curves and areas in a 2D environment? I know there is a routine that does this, but I can't remember what it is.
This would introduce small errors depending on how straight and plumb the sign actually is. For your purpose, it may not be of any consequence.
Alternatively, you may be able to rotate your shots to align with the X axis, then export the points to ascii....swap coordinate fields, then re-import (again shooting from the hip)?
Thanks this ended up being more trouble then it was worth. I would love to learn how to do this correctly but unfortunatly because of time restraints i had to do what i know works... at least good enough for this project.
With my field data I had many known lengths of the sign and i took pictures.
Just scaled my pic to a known length and traced it....
I appreciate your time.
Simple approach is swapping the north coordinates with the elevation coordinates. Then use common line and arc feature code and it will display in plan view. No 3d rotation needed.
Maybe I am crazy, but does it always have to be about CAD, you measured length and width you got the area, need volume too, did you measure the height. perhaps I'm too critical.
BK9196, post: 410437, member: 12217 wrote: Maybe I am crazy, but does it always have to be about CAD, you measured length and width you got the area, need volume too, did you measure the height. perhaps I'm too critical.
The sign had a lot of curves. it wasn't just a rectangle.
leegreen, post: 410051, member: 2332 wrote: Simple approach is swapping the north coordinates with the elevation coordinates. Then use common line and arc feature code and it will display in plan view. No 3d rotation needed.
Wow I'm impressed. I read this post Friday afternoon just before leaving for the day. I have to admit I was scratching my head about this for a bit on the ride home. I kept trying to work it out in my head saying nah nah. but the more I thought about it I couldn't see why it wouldn't work.
GREAT ANSWER YOU WIN.........
Seriously nearly 400 people viewed this thread. Im not sure I would have ever thought about switching the cords.
Now wait a minute....Do I at least get partial credit?
"export the points to ascii....swap coordinate fields, then re-import"
Truthfully I have not have an application for this type of work around yet, but I certainly will have a better handle on it, when I do.
imaudigger, post: 410510, member: 7286 wrote: Now wait a minute....Do I at least get partial credit?
"export the points to ascii....swap coordinate fields, then re-import"
Truthfully I have not have an application for this type of work around yet, but I certainly will have a better handle on it, when I do.
Sure you do, excel is a pretty stock windows program
MAG-EYE, post: 410469, member: 8763 wrote: The sign had a lot of curves. it wasn't just a rectangle.
Did the width change at some point? Its not clear from you initial post, typically a monument sign is a uniform width.
leegreen, post: 410051, member: 2332 wrote: Simple approach is swapping the north coordinates with the elevation coordinates. Then use common line and arc feature code and it will display in plan view. No 3d rotation needed.
I think that would only work if the sign was in a cardinal direction. You need to flip it so that the normal of the sign is the z axis to make it 2D if that is not the case.
John Putnam, post: 410616, member: 1188 wrote: I think that would only work if the sign was in a cardinal direction. You need to flip it so that the normal of the sign is the z axis to make it 2D if that is not the case.
"rotate your shots to align with the X axis, then export the points to ascii....swap coordinate fields, then re-import" That was my though as well...the axis of the sign should line up with the coordinate system...but now I'm going to have to go through this exercise to verify. Maybe at lunch.